Friday is April Fool’s Day, but the Detroit Lions were not messing around in sending seven representatives to Eugene for the Oregon Ducks pro day. While the Ducks have a few 2022 NFL draft prospects, the Lions didn’t send so many people there to check out anyone other than EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux is definitely in play for the Lions with the No. 2 overall pick. GM Brad Holmes has previously checked out the talented but enigmatic pass rusher in person and has spoked favorably of Thibodeaux.
The Lions did meet with Thibodeaux during the NFL scouting combine, but the 6-foot-4, 254-pound EDGE didn’t do any of the workouts other than running the 40-yard dash (4.58 seconds) or bench press (27 reps) in Indianapolis.
All 32 teams at @oregonfootball pro-day for Kayvon Thibodeaux & Verone McKinley workouts, including big groups from Lions (7), Seahawks (7) & Giants (5). Smart teams also taking in-person opportunity to hit up new HC Dan Lanning about all the Top-50 talent he coached at Georgia. pic.twitter.com/Vb15zDcF0G
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) April 1, 2022
There are other Ducks players to know as prospects too, notably S Verone McKinley and CB Mykael Wright. McKinley is undersized but fits the type of aggressive, playmaking safety the Lions and coordinator Aaron Glenn want in the back end of the Detroit defense.
As for Thibodeaux, he was once considered a lock to be a top-5 overall pick. And he still might be, though ample discussion of his perceived work ethic and on-field effort (valid or not) have clouded the projections.